Sustainability Metrics
Secondary Data

Chris Donovan

Food Systems Research Center

March 19, 2025

Introduction

  • Goals for secondary data:
    • Identify existing data and gaps
    • Explore methods of aggregating data
  • Structure of presentation:
    1. Framework and methods
    2. Preliminary results of case study
    3. Uncertainty and sensitivity
  • Guiding questions:
    • How well do the data represesent the system?
    • Valuation, scaling, weighting, aggregation
    • Where and how do we incorporate qualitative data?

A picture of a field at Intervale Farm.

Intervale Farm, Sally McCay, UVM Photo

1. Framework and Methods

Conclusions

  • Findings:
    • Gaps in secondary data
      • Soil health, carbon stocks, water quantity
      • Food distribution, loss, and waste
      • Diversity of farm types, production diversity
      • Social dimension
    • Framework complexity and coherence
    • Stability and sensitivity
    • Influential indicators
  • Looking ahead:

References